Final Stretch
by IwaKitsune
Summary: This is it. This is were things end... with heavy hearts and the fate of Everything on their shoulders, the group must go forth and finish this once and for all... Would it not be better to lift some of that heavy burden? One last opportunity, for everyone. Canon compliant, after fight atop Prison Island and before the final battle. Too many people to tag (lit. whole party some)


Last year I was talking with my friend Echo about something and this idea appeared. She helped write this because she wrote a small drabble and broke my heart to pieces and then I ran away with it and wrote like 5 more pages, and just now finished putting the last details.

So here you go, a short feels trip down memory lane. I hope you guys enjoy!

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The howling of the wind atop the Terrace dulled all other sounds around them, nearly covering the humming of pure energy of the dark, swirling portal that had been opened for them. Fiora hesitated before reaching to touch Shulk's quivering shoulder as they approached it, seeing his eyes filled with deep sadness and tears as they left Prison Island and their last... enemy behind. She wasn't the only one to notice his disposition, no of course not.

Reyn's anger had been quelled into a jittery worry, knowing he lacked the tact to be of any comfort. Sharla, Melia, and Riki all lacked many details of the situation to feel like they could touch into the subject; they had never known the Dickson the others had, they didn't know such a vital part, it wasn't their place to poke-not yet, at least. Dunban, a little behind the group, kept his own expression guarded under a carefully crafted mask to conceal his emotions, and he would be the one to reach out to the teen-he would, in due time, but now proved to not be the right one; he had his own battle to fight as well.

As soon as they entered shadowy flames of the portal, there was a blinding light and the deafening wind turned into silence. It took a moment for them to open their eyes, struggling to adjust to their new surroundings, and then a collective gasp broke free. Stretching above, below, and around them in all directions was blackness and stars. They stood on an invisible path, only marked by an intermittent, swift green light that seemed to mark the possible direction to follow. A gigantic sphere with a ring of beautiful colors around its equator in the far distance.

Shulk was the first one to dare move, the area all too familiar. The passage of fate, wasn't it? With a little portion of understandable hesitation, the group followed suit, their steps careful as they tested the sturdiness of the nothingness holding them upright. Tap, tap, tap.

Every step echoed loudly through the vast space. It was off-putting to Shulk-like being in a small cave where movement was limited. It felt like the sky was going to close in on him, which logically made no sense. When he looked down at the invisible ground holding him up, however, his sense of dread grew.

He walked ahead of the group, trying to avoid raising his arms in front of himself to feel and brace for an invisible wall. He had walked forward bravely, stating that he had recognized this area from his dreams, but he could not move in those dreams. He did not know what these lands held, if they held anything they could interact with, in the first place.

The first surprise this place held was definitely not anything he could have expected.

Shulk squinted, gaze focused ahead before his eyes widened, freezing in place. The others rose their own sight from the blackness below and around them to look at what had startled him, most of them flinching at the sound of Dunban's sword leaving its sheathe by his side, the slide of metal much too sharp on the muteness that let them hear each breathe they took, almost each others' heartbeats.

A large silhouette, thin and with many sharp edges, stood ahead of them, blocking their path. Its long, wicked claws moving through the air slowly as if their owner was barely keeping from striking with them, biding its time and energy.

Fear, confusion, horror, anger. All these emotions washed on the group as they stared at the translucent, dull green blob in the shape of Metal Face.

Suddenly, the large Mechon was closing in on them, claws held up at the ready to swipe and decapitate them. Caught by surprise, some of the group backing away a quick hop and avoided an unfortunate demise, but Dunban ducked under the attack-almost as if he has seen and countered it hundreds of times before-and cut upwards at the elbow of the machine, the anger in his expression unchanging even as the attack released small sparkles of green-Ether-into the air.

The rest of the group quickly went at the ready, all of them with hands on their weapons, but hesitated to truly get into the fight as they saw the dark determination in Dunban's eyes.

Metal Face didn't make a sound, didn't taunt vocally, much like he hadn't in the first encounter the Colony 9 civilians has had with him such a long time ago. But what he lacked in voice, he made up with actions. Dancing just barely out of reach of Dunban's sword, twisting his claws in taunting gestures, slamming his weapons into the invisible path with flashy attacks, he seemed to be enjoying making a show. And Dunban wasn't all too different, dodging skillfully and swiftly, though his lips were pulled back into a snarl.

But they couldn't get distracted here for so long. Time was running out, time was crucial! Shulk hesitated though, his legs frozen in place. There-! There it was! The world turned to shades of gray for a split second that took for the vision to cover his sight.

They were too close, they couldn't fall-Dunban couldn't fall here!

He immediately turned towards Melia, bewildered urgency in his eyes so bright he didn't even have to open his mouth for her to understand. Her eyes narrowed, feathers ruffling slightly as she focused her energy at the palm of her hand to her side; her fingers flexed at the same time Metal Face pulled back his claws, diving them down on the Homs veteran-in the last second switching his attacking hand to catch his side as he leaped away from the predicted move.

He never reached his mark as a ball of blinding, golden Ether crashed into his face, sending him toppling down and missing Dunban's head by mere inches. Dazed for a moment by the adrenaline of the close call, Dunban backed away from the fallen enemy and glanced at the group, almost as if breaking out of a trance. The others joined him quickly, eyes on the Mechon. Seconds ticked by with no reaction, no taunt or lash out from the machine, only the eerie silence of space around them.

Shulk looked around, eyes quickly drawn towards a green light a distance away, glowing just brightly enough to call for attention without being too distracting. Glancing back at Metal Face immobile form, he hurriedly turned on his heels and started towards the green beacon, signaling the others to follow. They were short of time, they couldn't waste any more fighting against something that might be unbeatable, considering the fact they weren't on the Bionis or Mechonis anymore.

Reyn, Sharla, and Fiora were quick to follow suit, and Riki had to physically drag Dunban and Melia out of their battle stances and after the others, concerned that they would be too unwilling to actually back away from this fight by themselves and get left behind. As they ran through the portal, both the High Entia Princess and the Homs Veteran dared take a final glance at the metallic carcass, caught by surprise as the dull green blob started dispersing into Ether, fading away into nothing.

Light blinded them again and suddenly they were aware of a new location, no longer able to catch sight of the disintegrating figure that had once been their enemy. Space surrounded them still, with blackness and stars, meteors floating by lazily and vague lights coloring the distance. A large sphere-larger than the one before-looming in the distance with its warm colors.

They stepped forward, hesitant for a moment, unsure if the same invisible ground would hold them up in this new area as well. Nothing proved out of the ordinary. 'Ordinary' from what they had seen, that is. Quickening their pace into a slight jog, the group moved forward, occasionally looking around and at the distance, entranced by the vast darkness of space, the enormous chunks of rock floating by, the shooting stars far, far away.

And similarly to last time, a blob of dull colors started materializing ahead of them. This time, the large figure was not anywhere near as skeletal as Metal Face. It was bulky, with a great shell that reminded of a beetle or a tortoise. They had encountered countless similar to this. Mass Produced Faces. But this one held itself different.

Its great hammer, larger than Reyn was tall, rested against its shoulder almost casually and its other hand reached upwards to do a scratching gesture to the side of its head. Sharla gave a start at the familiarity of it and readied her rifle; the large Mechon retaliated with a silent guffaw, its next gesture that of slapping its knee. It clicked in Shulk's and Reyn's minds as well.

The group readied their weapons, eyes on the large Mechon that acted so differently from the ones they had encountered in the Mechonis itself. Those mindless, hulking beings of metal who had been stripped of their humanity. Xord had never lost his memories like the ones that had been turned into weapons, even if whatever he remembered was jagged and blurry.

And Xord stared back down at them, changing his own stance to ready for battle, the dull Ether that formed him making it difficult to pinpoint where the white 'skull' of the machine was supposed to be. But before he or any of the group started the-meaningless, they all knew-fight, Xord patted his own chest, as if concealing chuckles.

The arm holding the hammer changed its position and grip, letting the tip of large instrument rest against the invisible platform holding all of them up; the other arm lazily moved to point down the path the group had been walking towards, the bright green glow of a star not too far away.

Shulk's hold of the new Monado shook slightly. Xord noticed.

One large metal limb moved to point at him, changing then to signal the sword held on his hands. The arm went back to point where Xord's head was and tapped it with a dull sound. The first one any of the large machines had been able to produce.

It almost felt like the words had been echoed inside Shulk's head, unsure if it was his own thoughts or if it was what Xord was trying to say. Now ya know what that sword's all about, pipsqueak.

With a slow exhalation, Shulk allowed his weapon deactivate, hanging by his side. The others soon followed suit, putting away their weapons as they stared at the silhouette of the hulking machine, watching the next gesture: Go on.

Move. Go ahead. You've come too far to waste precious seconds of the clock.

With a gulp, Shulk marched forward, followed by the others as they kept glancing back at Xord, approaching the star that called for them. Only him, Reyn, and Sharla knew of this particular Mechon, they had been the only ones who had encountered him, and now they were the last ones to see him go as his silhouette shuddered and faded, the Ether forming him returning to the air, dispersing into the stars and leaving without another sign.

The question nagged at them: Where were they? What was the purpose of this long hallway that held ghosts of people they had encountered and fought? First Metal Face-Mumkhar-and then Xord...

They touched the star and light covered their sight again, feeling static on their skin as they were transported to yet another location. A great, red planet appearing in the distance, smaller than the one before and lacking the rings of the first one.

The group looked amongst themselves, wanting to ask what was going on, what was happening and why. But they knew none of them held the answer, and so no one voiced anything. Continue onward, if something is to happen then it will come to them.

They continued moving at a jogging pace, focusing more on the path than the surroundings now. As bizarre and strangely lulling as they were, there wasn't much to focus on and they need not get distracted. That was, of course, until another blob formed ahead.

Or rather, four of them did, shapes of gathered Ether started forming, surrounding them where they stood. Melia was the first to gasp and bring her staff closer to herself as the blobs turned into what was clearly the shape of Telethia, unmistakable even without the glow of their antennas or strange wings.

They were of the smaller variety, though still towering the group.

And then they bowed.

Everyone stood still as the Telethia seemed to show their respect, holding clawed hands to their chests. One of them raised their head and Melia felt it stare at her. And she understood. Shulk swore she heard her whisper something... something she had mentioned before, a very long time ago. Aizel, Hogard, Garan, Damil.

He turned to look at her and swore he saw tears in her eyes as she stood, waving a hand and bringing it to her chest in regal greeting. Two of the Telethia immediately started walking forward, towards the green star in the distance. Melia nodded and urged the group to move and follow them, with the other two Telethia closing behind them. Shulk realized then: they were being escorted.

As soon as they were close enough to the star, the two in front stopped and stepped back to allow them approach, once again bowing in respect. The other two followed suit as the group moved further. The four of them dissolved into Ether soon after the seven were warped away.

This is where we part ways. It is our pleasure to finally say: Mission accomplished. Best of luck to all of you.

You are our hope.

The light faded and they were at the next invisible path, still surrounded by blackness and stars, now with large rocks and gorgeous light displays out of reach, and the gigantic sphere in the distance changed as well. A pale, off-white color with what looked like deep creases in its surface of a gray tone.

They were prepared as they started forward, leaving the light behind them. Ahead, the Ether swirled, solidifying into a tall shape with long, sharp spikes and edges, thin like Metal Face but a soft gasp of realization from Sharla quickly identified the large Mechon. The green of the Ether matched Gadolt much better than it did Mumkhar, Jade Face standing in their path unmoving and staring them down as an eyeless silhouette.

Tension could be tasted in the air, the group bidding their time and waiting for Jade Face to do something. The dull green and black figure twitching for a moment before finally moving under the intent gaze of everyone, their weapons at a ready should they've to engage with him. Shulk glanced at Sharla from the corner of his eye, noticing her stance, the reluctance in it as well as the determination, before her eyes widened and she lowered her weapon. His attention immediately went to the Mechon after the change in the medic's position, watching Jade Face move with eerie silence that didn't belong to the gigantic machines.

Jade Face-no, Gadolt's gears and steps unheard as he moved aside to let them pass, the shine of a green light, the star that served as portal ahead, in view now that he wasn't obstructing it. No one dared move for a couple seconds.

Until Sharla's boots touched the invisible path and she started forward, the others following suit and putting their weapons away before they passed the large Ether silhouette, some bowing their heads in respect. They walked towards the light, everyone but Sharla, who stood barely past Jade Face, her head low and eyes closed, conflicted.

Suddenly, she turned to almost glare up at the Mechon, holding her rifle in front of herself in attention. A moment later, the silhouette changed its own stance. Saluting. Everyone watched from a respectful distance as Sharla nodded and continued towards them, her head held high and composure firm; and slowly, as if it was sand blown by a breeze, Gadolt's Mechon faded, the dull green Ether gently circling and dispersing to join the stars surrounding their path.

There was a fourth flash as they stepped on the green star's light to the next area. This time, a short path that seemed unnecessary, the Moon behind them slightly smaller than it had been before, and what seemed like a blue marble barely closer, the shine of another green star beckoning them forward.

They waited for a moment, expecting to see another figure, but a couple moments passed and nothing happened. Knowing their time was short-shorter with each ticking second, they continued pressing on in silence.

A blob of green caught his eye and Shulk stopped, staring off to his side. The blob was gone as fast as it came. Reyn patted Shulk's shoulder, telling Shulk to get a move on. Shulk nodded, following behind Reyn and the gang.

He turned his head to the side while walking and saw the green blob once more. He squinted and realized that some of the green Ether was starting to concentrate again.

Shulk stopped, recognition dawning on him. The Ether formed a shape, a sorely familiar one, as had been the previous encounters. This one smaller than the ones before, and far more familiar to him. Dickson. The one he had known for a great portion of his lifetime. The sight of him made Shulk remember the wound which had cut through Dickson, the one that should have put him to rest. He tensed, an intense feeling of dread creeping up on him. He did not wish to repeat that battle. He did not wish to...

The figure turned away and waved at Shulk, the same lazy wave Dickson would always give him before leaving on some grand adventure. It paused, its head looking over its shoulder.

Shulk smiled. When Shulk was a child, Dickson used to always wait for him to wave back. He had always felt too bitter about Dickson leaving him to do so, causing the man to groan about how much he had done for Shulk, only to be treated like this. He had never truly been offended, however.

Shulk waved at the figure, keeping his smile the best he could. He felt the figure smile back, though he could not see it. The figure started walking away from Shulk, its Ether dispersing as the distance grew.

A warm tear slid past Shulk's smile and he let it fall, stalling for a second before reuniting with the group, catching a knowing look from Dunban.

With a quick inhalation and burning determination, Shulk lead the group into the light of the last portal. It was time to finish this journey.


End file.
